When to Plant Nigella in Zone 8a

One of the first steps you take when you are getting a good idea your gardening schedule is find your USDA Zone info. The zone info helps tell us things like average date of last frost and lowest expected temperature for your area.

It's a good idea to estimate when you can plant nigella by referring to the USDA zone info for Zone 8a.


Planting Calendar for Nigella

Frost tolerance for nigella: Very tolerant of frost.
When to plant: Up to 7 weeks before last frost.

Nigella do ok in a bit of cold which means that you can plant them quite a bit earlier in the year than more sensitive plants.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Legend 
A good time to plant nigella
Possibly ok, but a risky time to plant nigella
Probably not a good time to plant nigella

The earliest that you can plant nigella in Zone 8a is February. However, you really should wait until March if you don't want to take any chances.

The last month that you can plant nigella and expect a good harvest is probably September. If you wait any later than that and your nigella may not have a chance to really do well. If you are starting your nigella indoors then you might be able to get away with starting them a little bit earlier.

Last Frost Date

In Zone 8a the average date of last frost happens on March 15. It might get as low as 10°F during the coldest months of winter.

Since the USDA zone info for Zone 8a is not always accurate the actual date of last frost changes from year to year. Since half of the time in Zone 8a there is a last frost after March 15 be ready to cover your nigella if you have one of those late frosts.

USDA Zone Info for Zone 8a

Here is the info for USDA Zone 8a.

Average Date of Last Frost (spring)March 15
Average Date of First Frost (fall)November 15
Lowest Expected Low10°F
Highest Expected Low15°F

This means that on a really cold year, the coldest it will get is 10°F. On most years you should be prepared to experience lows near 15°F.

Plants to Grow in Zone 8a

You may be interested in your other planting guides for Zone 8a.